By Joleigh Darsey
Staff Reporter
The Conjuring: Last Rites, based on a true story written by Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, was directed by Micheal Chaves and released on September 5, 2025.
The story takes place in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, where paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine were investigating a haunted mirror when pregnant Lorraine suddenly went into labor. Once at the hospital, she gives birth to a stillborn for a minute. 22 years later, in 1986, the haunted mirror turned back up as a coronation gift to a young girl named Heather Smurl. A few months pass, and Ed and Lorraine, along with the daughter Judy Warren and her boyfriend Tony Spera, investigate the Smurl house. Judy was then led to the attic and became possessed by a demon from the mirror.
The film was remarkably good to some, while others believe it was not. Why? Viewers say that the film was not what they expected and needed more horror. Most watchers have also said they left the theaters feeling disappointed, thinking this was a weak wrap up to The Conjuring series.
I went into the theater with high expectations, thinking I was gonna be scared, but I left disappointed. The beginning of the movie was great, but towards the middle and end, I lost the plot. Hearing all of my friends talking about how excited they are to see this movie made me think, “This is gonna be a good movie.” I am personally not a fan of scary movies, but maybe after I watched The Conjuring: Last Rites, I would like it. Instead I just felt confused. The storyline had parts I never really understood and was just confusing all around.
The films general focus was horror, but all they showed was an overstuffed plot that made no sense and a sole focus on heavy jump scares. The Conjuring: Last Rites fails to give us a suspenseful middle and end, solely because in the middle of the film had parts that weren’t really relevant to the story.
Even though “The Conjuring: Last Rites” is appealing to some fans that like overplotted horror films, the promotion of the movie leads some to believe it was just like the other Conjuring movies. The plot, the scenes, and the characters could’ve been more interesting. While people are solely based on the plot and what’s to happen next. Take some time to really think about how the plot and the characters don’t mesh well together.
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